Recording mechanism for vibrators for testing watch-balances and hair-springs



(No Model.) 9 Sheets-Sheet 1.

G. E. HUNTER. RECORDING MECHANISM FOR VIBRATORS FOR TESTING WATGH BALANCES AND HAIRSPRINGS.

No. 566,177. Patented Aug. 18, 1896.

Q/W/M- (No Model.) 9 Sheets-Sheet 2.

G. E. HUNTER.

REUORDING MECHANISM FOR VIBRATORS FOR TESTING WATCH BALANCES AND HAIRSPRINGS.

No.566,177.- Patented,Aug.18,18'96.

umuv, wAs'nmsmu a c (No Model.) 9 Sheets-Sheet 3.

G. E. HUNTER. RECORDING MECHANISM FOR VIBRATORS FOR TESTING WATCH BALANGES AND HAIRSPRINGS.

No. 566,177. Patented Aug. 18, 1896. 4

(No Model.) 9 Sheets-Sheet 4.

G. E. HUNTER. RECORDING MECHANISM FOR VIBRATORS FOR TESTING WATCH BALANGES AND HAIRSPRINGS. No. 566,177. Patentefllu d g.18, 1896; a)! 4 9 Sheets-Sheet 5'.

Patented'Aug. 18, 18 96.

(No Model.) GnELHUNTER.

RECORDING MECHANISM FOR VIBRATORS FOR TESTING WATCH BALANCES AND HAIRSPRINGS.

(No Model.) 9 Sheets- Sheet e.

G. E. HUNTER.

REUORDING MECHANISM FOR VIBRATORS FOR TESTING WATCH BALANCES AND HAIRSPRINGS.

No. 566,177, Patented Aug. 18, 1896.

m H 0 m T S A W m m M n 9 S E R O F .8 R T A NR UH V .R m m I N A H G E M G N I \l D Q m m m M R BALANCES AND HAIRSPRINGS.

No. 566,177. Patented Aug. 18, 1896.

(No Model.) 9 Sheets-Sheet 8.

. G. E. HUNTER.

RECORDING MECHANISM FOR VIBRATORS FOR TESTING WATCH BALANGES AND HAIRS'PEINGS.

No; 566,177. Patented Aug. 18, 1896.

TOL|TND., WASHINGTON, D c

(no Model.) I v 9 SheetsSheet 9.

G. E. HUNTER.

RECORDING MECHANISM FOR VIBRATORS FOR TESTING WATGH BALANUBS- AND HAIRSPRINGS.

No. 566,177. Patented Aug. 18, 1896.

UNITED STATES ,ATENT FFICE.

GEORGE E. HUNTER, OF ELGIN, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO THE ELGIN NATIONAL IVATCH COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

RECORDING MECHANISM FOR VIBRATORS FOR TESTING WATCH-BALANCES AND HAIR-SPRINGS.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 566,177, dated August 18. 1896.

Application filed May 29, 1896. Serial No. 593,635. (No model.)

To ctZZ whom it may concern: and depending from the lower face of the Be it known that I, GEORGE E. HUNTER, of base is a number of lugs a, a, and a, prefer- Elgin, in the county of Kane, and in the ably six, which furnish bearings fora num- State of Illinois, have invented certain new ber of shafts C and C, that each extends be- 5 and useful Improvements in Recording Mechtween and is j ournaled in two contiguous lugs anism for Vibrators for VVatch-Balances and and is in a line axially with the other shafts. Hair-Springs; and I do hereby declare that J ournaled upon the projecting end of a the following is a full, clear, and exact debushing D, that surrounds and forms a bearscription thereof, reference being had to the ing for one end of each shaft C, is a pinion E, 1o accompanying drawings, in whichwhich meshes with and is rotated continu- Figure 1 is a perspective View of my mechously by a toothed wheel F and upon its outer anism as arranged for use. Fig. 2 is a front face is provided with a toothed clutch-face e, elevation of said mechanism. Fig. 3 is an while upon said shaft adjacent thereto is seelevation from the left-hand end. Fig. 4 is cured a sleeve G, which is adapted to be 15 a vertical longitudinal section of a portion of moved longitudinally and circumferentially the mechanism. Fig. 5 is a vertical section with said shaft. The end of such sleeve adon the line 00 a; of Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a longitudij acent to said clutch-pinion is provided with nal section on the line 1 y of Fig. 2. Fig. 7 a clutch face g, that by the longitudinal is an enlarged, longitudinal, and vertical movement of said sleeve may be caused to 20 section of one of the cam-shafts and its eonengage with or be disengaged from said pinnected and adjacent parts. Fig. 8 is a secion, so as thereby to enable said shaft to be tion on the line 2 z of Fig. 7. Fig. 9 is a derotated, when desired, by the rotation of said tail view, in section, of the papershifting pinion. mechanism. Fig. 10 is a perspective view of Adjacent to the clutch end of said sleeve G the tape-carrying segments; Fig. 11, a like is a circumferential groove g, which receives view of the upper end of the plus and minus the forked end of a lever II, that is used to carrying bar. Fig. 12 is a diagrammatic move such sleeve longitudinally. Next to view showing the electrical connections besaid groove is secured a heart-shaped cam I, tween one set of magnets of the mechanism the purpose of which will be hereinafter ex- 0 and the vibrator and the clock-controlled cirplained, and next to such cam upon the end cuits. of said sleeve is secured a snail-cam K, that Letters of like name and kind refer to like has upon or within its periphery a series of parts in the several figures. twenty steps 7c and 75, that have regularly-in- The present invention relates to mechanism creasing distances from the axis of the sleeve. 8 5

3 5 for testing watch-balances and hair-springs, Upon the shaft C, near to the inner end of and has for its object the substitution for the the sleeve G, is a second sleeve L, which has register or indicator, comprising a dial and secured to its end a snail-cam M, having hands, shown in my Patents No. 4%,797, istwenty-five step-faces m and m, and adjacent sued October 25, 1892, and No. 490,202, issued thereto a heart-shaped cam N similar to the 0 40 January 17 1893, of an apparatus capable of cam I, while at its rear end said sleeve is semaking a printed or permanent record; and cured within the face of a disk 0, which to this end said invention consists in the upon one face is provided with a series of ramechanisln having the construction substandial teeth 0. Said wheel 0 is journaled withtially as and for the purpose hereinafter in a support P, that is secured upon the part v 4 5 specified. B, so as to be capable of rotation While held In the carrying of my invention into pracin position with relation to the length of said tice I employ a frame which consists mainly shaft. Secured rigidly upon the rear end of of a rectangular plate A, that forms the base, said shaft C is a toothed wheel Q,which meshes and a yoke-shaped part B, which has the genwith a pinion R, that is secured upon a shaft too 50 eral form shown and is secured at its ends to R, that is journaled within suitable bearings,

or upon the ends of such base. Secured to which pinion is provided upon one face with a tappet 0'', that at each rotation of said pinion engages with one of the teeth 0 of said disk 0 and moves the same, the sleeve L, and the snail M forward one twenty-fifth of a revolution. As thus constructed, whenever the sleeve G is moved into engagement with the pinion E the rotation of the latter will,through said sleeve, be communicated to the shaft 0, and at each rotation of the latter the snail K will be correspondingly rotated, and through the toothed wheel Q, pinion R, tappet r, toothed disk 0, and sleeve L the snail M will be rotated one twenty-fifth of a revolution.

In use it is intended that the motion of the shaft 0 and its parts should be instantly arrested, and for such purpose one end of the shaft 0 is provided with clutch-teeth c and c, that are adapted to engage with the teeth 3 of a clutch-face S, that is rigidly attached to the frame.

J onrnaled upon a rod T, which extends through the lugs a and a, is a number of segments U and U, each of which is provided upon its curved periphery with a series of numerals a and a, that are raised above the adjacent surface, so as to form printing faces or type. One of such segments U is located above each snail K, and another segment U is arranged above the snail M, and each segment is provided with a tailpiece it, which is adapted to bear upon each of the step-faces of its snail whenever such face is brought into line therewith, and is caused so to do by springpressure whenever not restrained therefrom. Upon the segment which belongs to the snail K is provided twenty double type commencing with 00 and increasing five numbers each time, ending with 95, while upon the segment connected with the snail M is provided a series of twenty-four type, which commencing with the numeral l ends with the numerals 24c. As said segments are placed side by side they can, by movements upon their axes, be arranged so as to form any desired combination of numbers from O5 to 2,495, such combinations being governed by the positions of said snails, both circumferential and relative.

Immediately above the segments U and U is located a table V, which is provided with transverse slots n and 0, that contain the peripheries of said segments and permit their typefaces to come substantially flush with its face. A little above the face of said table over such slots is secured a strip of thin steel V, which is provided at each slot with an opening 20, that is slightly larger than the space covered by a row of coinciding type upon the segments beneath, and between such strip and table passes an inked ribbon X, which is wound upon and from two spools a: and C6, located at each end, by any usual means. Above each opening w is a round plunger Y, which works vertically within suitable guides, and at its lower end is adapted to pass into and through said opening and to impinge upon the type beneath. Said plunger is moved longitudinally by means of a rock-shaf t Z, j ournaled above, and a togglejoint A, which is pivoted at its ends to or upon said parts. An upwardly-projecting handle affords means whereby said rockshaft may be turned to cause said plunger-s to descend, while by the action of a spring said parts are returned to their normal position.

It is desirable that the segments should be held out of contact with the snails until just before the plungers are moved downward, to effect which a shaft Bis journaled in rear of the rod T and is connected with the rock-shaft Z by means of an arm .2" upon the latter and an arm 0 upon said shaft 3 and a rod 0 pivoted to and extending between such arms. In a line with each segment is a curved arm I), which extends forward, and when the plun gers are raised engages with a lug n on such segment and holds the latter at the extreme limit of its outer motion. W'hen said rockshaft Z is turned to move the plunger-s downward, said rock-shaft B is moved sufficient] y to release said segments and permit their tailpieces to impinge upon the steps of their snails before said plungers have moved downward sufficiently to in any manner interfere with the movement of said segments. Upon the opposite movement of said rock-shaft Z said segments are promptly moved to and locked in position out of contact with their snails.

A printed separable record of the type which coincide with each Hunger-opening is obtained upon paper by the following-dcscribed means, viz: Resting upon the table V is an open rectangular frame 1), which is provided with a plate E, that fits into and substantially fills the open center of such frame and is held therein by means of a number of screws F and F, which pass horizontally through the latter and into said plate. Between the contiguous edges of said 1' ame and plate is a sufficient space to contain the edges of a sheet of rubber or felt G, which latter is stretched over the lower face of said plate before the same is placed in position, and is thus held securely in place.

The elastic sheet G is intended to perform the office of the blanket of a printing-press, and below such sheet is stretched a sheet of paper II, which at each end turns upward and is secured firmlyin place by means of a bolt zontally-pivoted block I, that when turned to position impinges upon said paper and is held in engagement therewith by the spring K. A lever L, secured to one of the pivotal bearings of said block, enables it to be turned against the pressure of the spring, so as to release the paper.

\Vithin one end of the frame D is a groove d, which extends from near the front edge to a point near the rear ed go and receives one end of a lever M, that from thence extends upward and is pivoted centrally upon the yoke 13. The upper end of said lever is provided ITO with a stud m, which projects rearward into a zigzag groove n, that is formed in the periphery of a cylindrical cam N, which cam is journaled upon one end of the rock-shaft Z and is given a step-by-step rotation by means of an arm 0, that projects rearward from said rock-shaft, a pawl 0, pivoted upon the end of such arm, and a ratchet-wheel upon one end of said cam which is engaged by said pawl. As thus arranged at each partial rotation of said rock-shaft in the direction necessary to move the plungers Y downward said pawl trips over one of the ratchet-teeth n, while upon the reverse movement of said rock-shaft said pawl engages one of said ratchet-teeth and gives to said cam one-sixth of a revolution, and through the action of the cam-groove n and lever h moves said frame D longitudinally to the limit of its motion in one direction.

After the frame D has been moved longitudinally in one direction and a record printed it is automatically moved forward the necessary distance for the printing of a new line by means of a bell-crank P, which is secured upon one end of a shaft Q, that is journaled in and extends lengthwise of the yoke B, three cam-faces n 02 and n formed'upon the periphery of the cam N and engage with the end of the upper arm of said bell-crank, a pawl R which is pivoted to and extends forward from the end of the lower arm of said bell-crank, a toothed rack S, that is secured transversely upon the upper side at the end of said frame D and adapted to be engaged by said pawl, and a spring T, which operates to hold said bell-crank arm with a yielding pressure in engagement with said cam. The relative arrangement of the groove 02, ratchetteeth It and n, and cam-faces n m and n is such as to cause the paper to be moved longitudinally the length of a printed record at each upward movement of the plungers and to be moved forward the width of a printed line of records every second upward movement of said plungers, the result being such presentation of the paper as to cause it to be covered in regular order with the records of the vibrations of balances or hair-springs. In order that the action of the mechanism for moving the paper forward may be rendered certain, the pawl-andratchet mechanism described is duplicated, so that each end of the paper-carrier is simultaneously moved.

The lower end of the lever H carries an armature 7t, which is moved by means of an electromagnet U, which preferably has each coil "a and a made double, so that when currents of electricity having equal strength are passing at the same time and in opposite directions through each wire they will neutralize each other and produce no magnetism; but if one current is interrupted then the other current will act with full effect, and the armature will be attracted, and when thus attracted will operate to move the clutchsleeve G into engagement with the pinion E,

and thus set in motion the recording mechanism. This construction and operation is similar to what is shown and described in my hereinbefore-referred-to patent, No. 490,202. As in said patent, one of the electric circuits to the coils u and a is controlled by a standard clock and is closed at the expiration of a predetermined interval .of time, preferably one minute, while. the other circuit is controlled by the vibrator mechanism and is closed when the balance or spring being tested has made the number of vibrations that a perfect balance or spring would make in such interval. If, therefore, the balance or spring being tested is perfect, the two circuits will be closed simultaneously. If it be slow, then the vibrator-controlled circuit will be closed after the closing of the clock-controlled circuit, while if it be fast the vibrator-controlled circuit will be closed first.

In order that the printed record may show which of the two currents sets the registering mechanism in operation, there are located upon the base A, adjacent to each pair of printing-segments, two electromagnets V and V between which is pivoted a bar W, that extends upward beside and to the same height as the segments U and U and upon its upper end is provided with two type-characters, preferably and which are each adapted to print upon the record-paper, and by a slight inovement of said bar upon its pivotal bearing may be brought into position for impingement by the plunger Y. One of the coils 'v or o of said magnets forms part of the clock-con trolled circuit, while the other coil forms part of the vibrator-controlled circuit, so that the circuit first closed will cause the bar V to be moved into position to present the proper character for printing, while if the circuits are simultaneously closed said bar will maintain a normal mid-position and the printed record show neither fast nor slow. When both circuits are closed, the magnetism of the magnets U is destroyed and the clutch-sleeve G is, by the action of the spring X, moved to the opposite limit of its motion to perfect the setting of the snails and lock the same in place' After a record has been printed the recording mechanism is set at zero for a new record by means of a shaft Y, that is journaled at the front of and below the base A and is provided with a series of arms 2 and c that by the partial rotation of such shaft may be pressed upon and caused to turn the heartshaped cams I and N, and with the latter the sleeves to which they are attached. Before such action is had, however, it is necessary to release said sleeves from engagement with the clutch-face S, and such is effected by forming upon the side of the lever H a cam projection h, which is engaged by the contiguous arm .2 so as to move said lever to a position midway between the extremes of motion and leave the segments free to be turned to zero. A handle 2 secured to and IIO projecting upward from said shaft, enables it to be readily turned, as described.

Having thus described my invention, What I claim is 1. The combination with means for vibrating a balance or hair-spring, and a standard timepiece, of printing recording mechanism, and connections between each of the former and said printing mechanism, whereby they may control the latter, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

2. The combination with a balance or hairspring vibrator, and a standard timepiece of a printing recording mechanism common to both, and connections between each of the former and the latter, whereby the printing position of said mechanism can be controlled by either, substantially as and for the purpose described.

8. The combination with a balance or hairspring vibrator and a standard timepiece, of a printing recording mechanism whose typecharacters are carried by moving parts, and electrical connections between said vibrator and said standard timepiece and the recording mechanism whereby each of the former may control the movements of the type-earrying parts of the latter, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4. The combination with a pivoted typecarrying part of a printing mechanism, of a rotary snail to fix the printing position of said part, and means to hold said part free from the snail substantially as and for the purpose shown.

5. The combination with a pivoted typecarrying part of a printing mechanism, of a rotary snail to fix the printing position of said part, means to rock the latter to move it into and out of contact With the snail, and an electromagnet for connecting said snail with a constantly-moving part, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

(J. The combination with a pivoted typecarrying part of a printing mechanism, of a rotarysnail to fix the printing position of said part, a doubly'coiled electromagnet, adapted to be traversed by opposing currents, an indicator, and two magnets to oppositely move the latter, each of the latter magnets being in circuit with one of the coils of said doublycoiled magnet, substantially as and for the purpose described.

7 The combination with the two pivoted type-carrying parts of a printing mechanism, of a rotary snail for each part, a clutch mechanism to connect both snails to a constantly moving part, and an eleetromagnet to operate said clutch mechanism, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

8. The combination with a movable typecarrying part of a printing mechanism, of means to move the same, a device to fix the printing position of said part, a plunger or like part to give the impression, a stop to hold said type-carrying part against movement until a predetermined time, and means to move said stop into and out of engagement with such part, substantially as and for the purpose shown.

9. The combination with a movable typecarrying part of a printing mechanism, of means to move the same, a device to fix the printing position of said part, a plunger to give the impression, a stop to hold said typecarrying part against movement thatis movable into and out of engagement therewith, means to move said plunger, and connections between the same and said stop to move the latter when the plunger is moved to give an impression, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

10. The combination with the pivoted typecarrying part of a printing mechanism, of a rotary snail to fix the printing position of said part, a plunger to give the impression, a pivoted arm to engage a projecting portion of the type-carrying part, and a lever eonneeted with said arm and with the plunger, substantially as and for the purpose described.

11. In a printing mechanism, the combination with the printing devices, of the holder for the impression-receiving surface, and means to move said holder alternately longitudinally and laterally, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

12. In a printing mechanism, the combination with the printing devices, of a frame adapted to carry the impression-receivin g paper, and means to move said frame, alternately longitudinally and laterally, substantially as and for the purpose shown.

13. In a printing mechanism, the combination with the printing devices, of the holder for the impression-receiving paper, the camactuated lever for imparting movemen t there to in one direction, and the pawl-andratchct mechanism for moving such holderin another direction, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

14. The combination with the two snails, of means to rotate them at different rates of speed,a shaft on which said parts are mounted, a clutch to connect said shaft to a constantlyrotating pinion, a clutch to connect said shaft to a relatively-fixed part, and means to move said shaftlongitudinally to alternatelychange the engagement of said clutches, substantially as and for the purpose described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand this Bid day of May, 1896.

GEORGE E. HUNTER.

\Vitnesses: V

CARLOS H. SMITH, MORTIMER M. CLOUDMAN.

ITS 

